Means of Transport Recommended in the Rest of the Country

Traveling By Yourself

Recommendation

The quality of the roadways is inconsistent. The only highway is from Bucharest to Pitesti. Roads are often congested with horse drawn wagons, unlit at night, and used by vehicles with defective lighting. It is therefore recommended not to drive at night. Fuel is readily accessible and plentiful. The speed limit is 50 km/h in cities and 80 km/h on all other roads. One should bring an international driver's license and validate their auto insurance.

The bus and train are two means of transport most commonly used. The rail network is dense and it is very easy to travel from one city to another. Beware of rush hours because tickets are often only available for sale one hour before departure. Local buses travel over short distance and are often the only way to get to some small medieval villages.;

Emergency Numbers

Time Difference and Climate

Time and Time Difference

It is %T:%M %A In Bucharest (GMT +2 in winter, GMT +3 in Summer)

Summer Time Period

DST is from late March to late October.

Map of the Time Zone

Type of Climate

The climate type is temperate continental. In winter, the temperature drops below 0°C and as low as -15°C in the mountains and -7°C in the city. It snows heavily. Spring and autumn are rather short and rainy. Summer is usually very sunny and temperatures can climb to 35°C. The coldest month is January and the hottest month is July.

Average Annual Temperatures and Rainfall

Eating

Food Specialties

The Romanian cuisine is extremely rich in specialties: the mamliga (polenta) that is often eaten with cheese is commonly served at breakfast. Other dishes of vegetables, meat or fish are served throughout the day:

Romanian beer, red wine and rarely white wine, following the meal a small cup of Tuica or Rachiu, the traditional plum liquor, is an "eau de vie".In areas near the borders, schnapps or vodka is also served.‘Ceai’ is Romanian for ‘Tchai’, a tea infusion.

Dietary Restrictions

Serving rare meat is unthinkable in Romania, so if you really want a rare steak, you will have to give instructions about how long to cook the steak. Snails are not generally consumed.

Paying

Domestic Currency

Romanian New Leu

ISO Code

RON

To Obtain Domestic Currency

The Romanian currency is the Leu (“Lei" in the plural) (pronunciation: lay). Bills are in the denominations: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 lei. The coins are in the denominations: 1, 5, 10 and 50 bani rooms (pronunciation: bahnee) 1leu = 100 bani. The transition to the euro (EUR) is expected in 2012.

Foreign currencies can be exchanged at banks and official exchange bureaus ("casa de schimb" or "birou of schimb valutar"). Money exchange bureaus are available in airports and major hotels. The ATMs are accessible at major city banks, airports and shopping malls. However they are rare in villages. Credit cards American Express, MasterCard and Visa are accepted at major hotels, car rental agencies and shopping malls in large cities. Far from the tourist centers and large cities, credit cards are not so widely accepted.

Possible Means of Payment

It is preferred to pay in cash rather than with credit card.

Speaking

Official Language

Romanian, spoken by 89.4 % of the population.

Other Languages Spoken

It is important to note that the Hungarian and German are also widely spoken in the country. Regarding foreign languages, the most commonly spoken in Romania are English and French. After a decade, the speaking of Russian has slightly diminished.